| When
I sent my manuscript for my book Over the Top to the publisher, he returned
it and said, “You can't tell people how to go over the top until you identify
'the top.'” For over two months, I struggled to come up with the definition
of “the top.” Finally, I just threw up my hands and said, “It'll
come to me.”
My wife and I were visiting her sister,
Eurie Abernathy, in a nursing home in Shreveport, Louisiana. Many of the people
there are seriously ill, but Eurie, who has multiple sclerosis, only needs help
with a few minor activities, such as getting in and out of her wheelchair.
When we go to nursing homes, I always feel like a fish out of
water. I am one of those solution-oriented people who doesn't know what to do
when I'm faced with something that can't be fixed. My wife, whom I lovingly refer
to as “The Redhead,” takes a different approach. She grabs everyone,
hugs them, talks to them, listens to them, and makes them feel every bit as special
as they are.
On this day, I was having more than my usual
degree of difficulty handling the visit, so I walked outside and started to pray.
I asked God to give me the kind of heart for others my wife has. I was outside
for about 15 minutes, and when I returned, the words came to me. The only paper
I had was the back of our motel bill. | |
| |
You are at the top when:
a
|
| 1. | You
clearly understand that failure is an event, not a person; that yesterday ended
last night, and today is a brand-new day. | |
2. |
You
have made friends with your past, are focused on the present, and are optimistic
about your future. | | 3. | You
know that success (a win) doesn't make you, and failure (a loss) doesn't break
you. | | 4. | You
are filled with faith, hope and love; and live without anger, greed, guilt, envy
or thoughts of revenge. | |
5. | You
are mature enough to delay gratification and shift your focus from your rights
to your responsibilities. |
| 6. | You
know that failure to stand for what is morally right is the prelude to being the
victim of what is criminally wrong. |
| 7. | You
are secure in who you are, so you are at peace with God and in fellowship with
man. | | 8. | You
have made friends of your adversaries, and have gained the love and respect of
those who know you best. | |
9. | You
understand that others can give you pleasure, but genuine happiness comes when
you do things for others. | |
10. | You
are pleasant to the grouch, courteous to the rude, and generous to the needy. |
| 11. | You
love the unlovable, and give hope to the helpless, friendship to the friendless,
and encouragement to the discouraged. |
| 12. | You
can look back in forgiveness, forward in hope, down in compassion, and up with
gratitude. | | 13. | You
know that “he who would be the greatest among you must become the servant
of all” (The Bible, Matthew 23:11). |
| 14. | You
recognize, confess, develop and use your God-given physical, mental and spiritual
abilities to the glory of God and for the benefit of mankind. |
| 15. | You
stand in front of the Creator of the universe, and He says to you, “Well
done, thou good and faithful servant” (The Bible, Matthew 25:21).
a
|  |
